Addictive Old-School Arcade Games |
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Things sure have changed a lot since the bygone era of Missile Command and Defender. Not too long ago, arcades were dark and dreary places with seedy ne'er-do-wells, pool tables, and rudimentary pinball machines. Pong, the first modern arcade game, moved the scene in a radically different direction. Nowawdays, living in the 90s, we're spoiled by an abundance of options and mind-blowing graphics, but back in the early and mid-80s we sunk our quarters into arcade cabs based not on visual prowess, but pure gameplay fun. Here is our Top 10 Most Addictive Old-School Arcade Games, based on the merits of notoriety, re-playability, and our own personal recollections. |
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Space Invaders by Taito Save Earth in the original spaceship shooter. |
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Frogger by Konami Frogs dodging traffic?! Konami was always the innovator. |
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Mappy by Namco Guide a cute police mouse through trampoline-filled mansions. |
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Pole Position by Namco The ground-breaking racing title, and a favorite in Japan. |
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Centipede by Atari Fast-paced, insect-based shooter. Watch your fingers on that trackball! |
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Tempest by Atari Blast aliens in a vector tube. Super fast and perhaps unwinnable. |
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Dragon's Lair by Cinematronics A beautifully animated laserdisc adventure - You'll get hooked! |
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Donkey Kong by Nintendo The game that started it all. Help Super Mario defeat the gorilla. |
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Galaga by Namco Fun, action-packed vertical shooter, and an extremely-close second place. |
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An icon of video games and the 10-year-old mascot for Namco, Pac-Man, and his female companion Ms. Pac-Man, are without a doubt the most addicting arcade games. Everyone knows the story and how to play this one: Guide the pellet-muncher through a maze of dots, collecting fruit and dodging the four killer ghosts. It gained fame for being incredibly easy to learn but remaining difficult to master. Pac-Merchandise flooded store shelves back in '82 and it even garnered a Top-40 pop song! The Pacs are just good, old-fashioned arcade fun, and the PPM crew may have lost enough allowances on this cab to afford a year's rent at the office (yeesh!). Chances are, your local arcade may still have an old, Pac-Man unit somewhere in the back gathering dust. Tell them to drag that sucker out and relive the golden years! | |||
 [Article from the Sept/Oct 1993 Issue of PPM] | |||
